Two is not a troop, and after two-and-a-half years with just our duo, Chiquito and Lolita, I was getting discouraged. IF the reason we weren't getting spider monkeys was because none were being orphaned it would have been great, but the reality is that there just aren't many left in the wild. The population of spider monkeys in Costa Rica decreased 72% between 1995 and 2007 (Ronald Sanchez, UCR) and now, seven years later, they have been "upgraded" to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, which means they face an extremely high risk of extinction.

﻿So, Paul and I are still in shock over this past week. On Friday the owner of another rehabilitation center brought us Anita, a 5 or 6-year-old female; and Pancita, a ten-month-old female. On Monday MINAET brought us a three-month-old female - tragically, orphaned near the Nicaraguan border when her mother was shot for meat. And on Thursday MINAET confiscated a 1 or 2-year-old female from an unlicensed facility, and we picked her up yesterday afternoon. All of them are the same subspecies as Chiquito and Lolita, Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi, except for the orphan Dorita, who we believe is Ateles geoffroyi ornatus. Dorita has five fingers on one hand (spider monkeys have four fingers and no thumb), a black tongue, and unusually long golden hair - so we'll have her DNA tested to confirm our suspicions (in which case we will eventually need a male of the same subspecies).﻿﻿ We have a full house now, with a real troop if introductions go well in the next few weeks, and we plan to add a series of exercise corridors as soon as weather permits.

Our two new girls are sweethearts. Anita is polite and doesn't make eye contact (which is a social gaffe among monkeys) but immediately hops onto any available lap, with or without food. Pancita is a bundle of energy and never sits still unless there's food!

Pancita wearing my skirt on her head.

Pancita and Anita are next to Lolita, but the cages haven't been opened into one large enclosure yet, which will be a new experience for Lolita and for us. To be continued...

Mother's Day is August 15th in Costa Rica, and I received my best "gifts" ever!

Anita

Pancita

Yesterday the owner of another wildlife rehabilitation center brought us two spider monkeys; Anita, a three or four-year-old female, and Pancita, a ten or twelve-month-old female. (We're just guessing at ages, because you rarely know with orphaned or confiscated wildlife.)

Chiquito and Rodolfo

Chiquito should have been thrilled about adding two females to his troop, but he was much more interested in meeting Rodolfo. Like most male spider monkeys, Chiquito prefers males to females socially. In the wild, the males stay in the natal troop with their father, brothers, and other male relatives; whereas the females "leave home" at sexual maturity.

Anita and Pancita are caged together, as they were at the other center since Pancita arrived about a month ago, and they'll be kept separate from Lolita as they get to know each other. Today we opened the two isolation cages into one large cage, giving them a common chainlink wall with Lolita, and all three girls "helped."

Michele Gawenka

Jane Goodall has always been my hero, and working with primates an aspiration. Africa wasn't in the cards the summer I turned 16, when my parents offered to send me to volunteer, and there was only one class (in physical anthro-pology) when I wanted to study primatology in college. Decades later my husband and I retired in Costa Rica, and this is our journey with spider (and howler) monkeys.